Here are some strategies for helping you stay motivated while working remotely.

Motivation vs. Focus - What's the difference?

Motivation and focus are two words that get thrown around quite often. In fact, we even wrote an article on “How To Stay Focused While Working Remotely”. Sometimes these terms are used interchangeably so let's take a mental step back: what do they actually mean? 

Motivation is the desire to do something. It's the initial push that gets you going. Motivation can be fueled by external factors like money or praise from your boss, or it can come from within, or both.  

Focus, on the other hand, is the ability to concentrate on a task for an extended period of time. Focus varies in intensity: some people can focus for short periods of time but get distracted easily, others can focus for hours on end without being sidetracked by anything else going on around them. The term "Deep Work" has become more widely used in recent years. Deep Work aims at scheduling specific periods of time (3h for example) for one important (and sometimes mentally challenging) task.

Remote Work Motivation Strategy 1: Reduce digital noise 

The internet has a vast amount of distractions: browsing on social media, watching YouTube videos, or reading articles that have nothing to do with work. Social media in particular can quickly take up a lot of your mental space. To avoid this and keep your motivation on what's important, set aside specific times during the day for checking social media.

If there's any time where people are most likely to check their phones for notifications and updates from friends, it's first thing in the morning. That's why it's best not to check social media first thing when getting into work mode and once again after coming home from an afternoon away from home base—it'll only take up more time than needed for other responsibilities like responding to emails or taking care of household tasks before heading off into dreamland again after a long day at work. 

You can dive deeper into the topic of noise and stress reduction by reading the guide "Experts Reveal the Best Ways to Reduce Stress for Remote Workers" by remote.com.

Remote Work Motivation Strategy 2: Prioritize Self-Care

When people think of self-care, they may only think of taking vacations or other times away from work. In fact, self-care is more than that: it is an ongoing process of evaluating how you feel, what your needs are, and making adjustments to meet those needs. It’s also about prioritizing your mental health, meditating, getting enough sleep, and eating healthy foods. You need to be at the top of your game if you’re going to get things done efficiently and stay motivated. 

Keep in mind: that self-care is not selfish. It’s important that you take care of yourself so you can be productive while working remotely. 

Remote Work Motivation Strategy 3: Limit Meetings and Emails

If you're working remotely, you are probably having quite a few meetings with your team. Always try to keep work-related meetings short and to the point. The same goes for emails—if you can get away with not sending something over email then do so. This is especially important if your company uses Slack or another messaging app because you can quickly answer with a short message instead of formulating a whole email and wrapping your mind around each and every formulation.

Remote Work Motivation Strategy 4: Reach Out to Your Team

In a remote work environment, it's important to know that you can still reach out to your coworkers for advice or help when the need arises. If you're working on a project and run into an issue, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to talk to someone about it without being in the same room.

You can also combine this strategy with the previous one of self-care and reach out to your team for reasons other than work. As you do not have a water cooler to hang around and chat about the latest news, you can go for an engaging game, or fun icebreakers instead.

Remote Work Motivation Strategy 5: Keep a Routine 

One of the most effective ways to boost your motivation is to create a routine that works for you. The key is having a daily schedule that’s both flexible enough to accommodate work, but also strict enough to keep you in line with your goals.

If you’re new to working remotely, it may take some trial and error before finding the ideal amount of structure and flexibility that suits your needs. But once you do find something that works right for you (and sticks), it'll become second nature—and help keep motivation high.

Staying motivated while working remotely means creating a routine that works for you, setting boundaries, and allowing yourself time to recharge throughout the day

When you work remotely, there are a lot of things that are out of your control. You'll have to deal with the inevitable distractions and disruptions, but it's still important to stay motivated and productive. If you're having trouble staying motivated at home or in your co-working space, try setting some boundaries for yourself. 

It's not easy to stay motivated while working remotely, but with the right strategies, you can make it work. By prioritizing self-care, limiting distractions, and reaching out to coworkers when necessary, you'll be able to find a routine that fits your needs.

How do you like to kick off your remote working days? Share it and tag us on LinkedIn over at Doozyhq!

Remote.com - How To Stay Focused While Working Remotely

Journal of Organizational Behavior - Self-determination theory and work motivation

How to stay motivated while working remotely

Working remotely is a great way to get ahead in your career. There are fewer distractions and you can spend more time on the things that matter most. 

But if you're not careful, working remotely can also make it harder to get promoted because you aren't "seen" in the traditional sense or able to work physically closely with your manager on projects. That's why it's important that remote workers use their time wisely and invest in building relationships with their coworkers before they even think about asking for a promotion.

Your remote-worker identity is your platform. It's what you stand for, and it's how people know you. It will help guide your career development as well as inform how others see and interact with you.

Your remote-worker identity should be driven by your values, not by what the job market demands at any given moment. If the industry asks for something that conflicts with one of your core values or doesn't fit into your professional goals, it's okay to say no—and even better if you can find a way to make an impact without compromising yourself in the process!

Your remote-worker identity is your chance to share what makes you unique, so don't be afraid of being yourself. What would make working with remote workers fun? What motivates you? You can use these answers as your guide for creating a personal mission statement, which will not only help others understand how they might benefit from collaborating with you but also serve as an inspiration for staying true to yourself throughout your career.

Your manager should be the person you talk to when it comes to your goals and how to achieve them. Make sure that you’re openly communicating with them about what you are working on, as well as the best ways for them to help support your work.

The most successful remote workers understand that their managers are there for more than just checking in on their progress now and then; they also operate as a mentor who can help guide new employees through their career development process, from onboarding all the way through growing and developing their career through promotions and other career steps.

If you want to get promoted, you need to ask for feedback. It's that simple. While asking for feedback may feel uncomfortable or awkward, it's actually a great way to show your manager that you're invested in your career and willing to do whatever it takes in order to improve yourself as an employee. The best time to ask for this kind of feedback is at the end of each project (or annual review), but if there are other milestones during the year–such as when you receive the go-ahead from your client on a new project–make sure that those opportunities aren't missed either!

You want your manager to know about the work you are doing, and they need to see that your achievements are visible. 

Tell them. As much as possible, make sure that your manager knows about the work that you are doing. You can use your internal online tools and ping your manager. By seeing the track of tasks and projects they can be easily reviewed by both parties at any time.


Make it obvious within the organization that you're not only checking all boxes when it comes to delivering your tasks, but also thinking one step ahead and not losing sight of the bigger picture.  


Share your team successes with other teams too, to push your visibility within the whole organization.

Use technology to connect with people and make sure your work is getting noticed

You may be working remotely, but that doesn't mean you can't keep the lines of communication open with those who matter most. In fact, staying connected is so important that it's a key factor in getting promoted while working remotely.

In case you want to know more, we’ve written an article on how to communicate within your remote team, with all the information you need to get going.

If you’re looking to get promoted while working remotely, we hope these tips will help. They all boil down to one simple idea: be proactive, and put yourself out there! Make sure your manager knows what you do and how well it’s going. Ask for feedback on how you can improve; offer suggestions for how the company could make its processes more efficient or effective. Get on Slack if possible—it helps teams stay connected even when they're not all together physically in an office space. 

And finally, use technology to connect with people outside the company so that your work gets noticed by the right people who might be able to promote you based on what they see from afar.

How do you like to tell your team about your wins at work?

Share it and tag us on LinkedIn over at Doozyhq!

Further Resources
Proactivity Staying Ahead Of The Game

How to Make Yourself Visible When Working From Home

Image Credits: Pexels.com, Unsplash.com, Giphy.com

Yes, Your Promotion While Working Remotely Is Possible. Here's How

If you work in a remote or hybrid setup, you know that communicating with your team is critical to the success of not only your team but also the whole organization. But if it's not done effectively, miscommunication and frustration can arise. 

The solution? Learn how to communicate with a remote team so that everyone understands each other clearly and has the information they need when they need it

Create a digital space where your team members can gather

This will be a place for people to discuss things, get to know each other, and share content that will help them in their work. For example, you can set up an online chat room or shared document that allows people from different time zones to interact with one another at convenient times.

Share content with your team that they might like. You don’t have to limit yourself to videos or articles; podcasts are also a great way of sharing information with your team as well as helping them keep up-to-date on industry news or simply providing them with good listening material.

Take the time to understand what each individual needs from you

The most important thing to understand when communicating with one another is that no two people are alike. Therefore, it's crucial to take the time to get to know your team and their needs as individuals. The more you learn about each individual on a personal level, the more comfortable they'll feel communicating with you.

Start by asking them what they need from you, as well as what they need from their team members or manager(s). Also, ask them what they need from their organization because this can have a great impact on how effective your communication attempts are in general.

By taking these steps, you'll not only be able to communicate better with your team members but also help them feel more comfortable sharing their needs and ideas for improvement. This can be a great way to build trust over time because each person feels heard.

Create a ‘watercooler' channel on chat tools like Slack or Teams

The best way to get comfortable with a remote team is through casual conversation. Most companies set up ‘watercooler' channels on their tools like Slack or Teams, where people can share news, memes, funny videos, etc. It's also a great place to chat about personal things and ask questions—it's more inclusive than an email chain and less formal than a conference call.

Don't be afraid to get personal: share something that happened in your day or ask someone how their weekend was. It might feel weird at first if everyone else is talking about work stuff (and some people will probably post more often than others), but it's important not only to show an interest in what other people have going on outside of work but also to make sure they feel comfortable sharing their non-work thoughts with you in return.

Hosting virtual team activities is a great way to keep your remote team connected. Virtual team activities can be as simple as a video call where everyone talks about their week or getting together to have a virtual lunch. 

The easiest way to get things started is by having fun and engaging icebreakers before you start off your meetings. This way you begin on a good note and if your team knows there’s something fun happening beforehand, they will even look forward to the toughest meetings. If you want to step it up a notch, you can even create weekly team rituals that will create a positive and strong bond within your team.

All these strategies help in building trust within your team, which is a crucial component for successful teams.

Remote team communication is easy once you know what tools and strategies to use

Remote team communication is easy once you know what tools and strategies to use. Tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Trello can help you stay in touch with your team. Create a digital space where your team members can gather. Talk about the latest project updates or ask questions about upcoming projects that need to be completed.

We hope this article gave you some great ideas for how to communicate with remote teams. Whether your employees work from home or in a different city, the tools and strategies outlined here will help you communicate effectively with them.

How do you like to communicate with our team? Share your insights by tagging us on LinkedIn over at Doozyhq!

Forbes - Five Strategies To Improve Communication With Team Members

Science Direct - Virtual Team Effectiveness: An Empirical Study Using SEM

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How to stay motivated while working remotely

Yes, Your Promotion While Working Remotely Is Possible. Here's How

Your Strategy To Communicate Effectively With A Remote Team

Connect With Your .css-1jfa32o{background:#fdcdae;}Remote Team

Team socials, employee onboarding, company all-hands. They won't suck with Doozy.

Icebreakers

Games and quizzes

Event templates

Custom activities

Video built in

Event planner

Shared library

Analytics

Whiteboard

Premium experiences

Recurring rituals

Slack Integration

How to stay motivated while working remotely

Yes, Your Promotion While Working Remotely Is Possible. Here's How

Your Strategy To Communicate Effectively With A Remote Team

Connect With Your
Remote
Team

Team socials, employee onboarding,
company all-hands. They won't suck with Doozy.